we are together again.
You have known me by many names: Temazcalteci,
Grandmother of the Baths, Herbalist and healer,

Matron of midwives
and those with the sight.

Tonantzin, Mother of Earth and Corn.
And Guadalupe, the Virgin, Goddess and Saint.

I remember the humble man Juan Diego.
I appeared to him. I filled his cape with roses,
so even the mighty churchmen believed his vision.
And they built my shrine, the holiest in Mexico:
There you may seek me, in body and heart.

Dance on my day, and your corn will be sweet.
Aztec and Catholic hold in common my promise and praise.

Buy a seven day candle with my picture on the glass,
Set it on your table, to shine upon your life.
To shine from the other world
delivering the light to you.
Para ti. Bless you, my children.

by Mary Kay Landon

In June of 2004 a diverse group of people walked 75 miles, from the border town of Sasabe, Arizona to the Department of Emigration in Tucson to bear witness to what illegal immigrants go through in crossing the border. The march was to bring attention to the men, women and children who die in the desert each year. Valerie James, who danced the Virgin of Guadeloupe in our 2004 performance "Restoring the Balance", brought the mask to the march, which she carried with others who bore black crosses to remember the unknown migrants who died in the desert that year. Valerie, who lives in Amado, not far from the border, is currently the Director of Los Madres, a community arts project that bears compassionate witness to the plight of Mexican illegal emigrants. For information about her project, visit her website: www.lasmadresproject.org

"Though Las Madres is a memorial to the loved and the lost, it is also a monument to hope. Make no mistake about it, in this world prayers are powerful and mothers are strong." ~~ Valarie James